Beauty & lifestyle

Month: October 2018

Recently I dived into K Beauty and found out I love all things snail 🙂 I tried out a trial sample of the It’s Skin Prestige Cream d’ escargot which was amazing for my skin. I just couldn’t bring myself to bite the bullet and buy the full size bottle which costs around 65$. There are so many snail creams out there, what if I find one that works just as well but is cheaper?

So, off I go to Amazon to check the bazillion snail creams they have there and stumbled upon the Moonlab Gold Snail Vital up Essential Cream. It was selling at a price of 10$ so I decided to see if they really have snail filtrate and gold in there. I found out that this cream was being sold for around 88 dollars in Singapore (Thanks Google)! So this had to be a fake one right? Nope! Turns out that the seller is the actual company that makes these creams so this was not a knock off. Maybe the company is doing some sort of promotional price and since it was only 10 bucks I decided to buy it.

Moonlab Gold Snail Vital up Essential Cream

A few days later I got the cream in the mail. The box and the cream tub looked nice and luxe. I liked the silver lettering on the coffee maroon lid. The cream came with a nice spatula too. My first impressions were immediately dampened when I saw the expiration date on the outer box. The cream was all set to expire in 10 days! You get what you pay for 😛 That was the reason this guy was only 10 bucks.

So I decided to test the cream out for 10 days and another 10 days post expiration. The ingredient list looked real good which was one of the reasons I got it. Take a look.

Ingredient List

It has Sodium Hyaluronate, Snail filtrate, glycerin, niacin amide…. all as the first couple of ingredients. This is the stuff my dry skin loves.

The cream has a nice pleasant smell. I can’t describe it..its not overly floral but it is a very faint floral scent which is not over powering. The texture of the cream is a bit stringy compared to the the It’s Skin Prestige Creme d’ Escargot snail cream. However, it feels really nice when applied to the skin. The cream sinks right in and my skin did feel moisturized the next day morning.

Slightly stringy with gold flecks best describes the cream!

I am not sure if those gold bits did anything for my skin. I used to find small specks of it on my face sometimes..other than look like I went for a late night craft lesson I doubt it did anything.

Overall, it was a decent moisturizer. But was it amazing..nah. I did not find my skin looking any brighter or radiant. It did not do anything for my blemishes, redness, dullness etc. I don’t see myself re purchasing this one again ( especially not if they sell old stock that expires in 10 days). There are so many snail creams out there for me to try!

Have you tried the Moonlab Snail cream? or any of their other products?

One of the things I love about travelling is trying out new beauty products ( and of course food!) I can’t find back at home. Natio is an Australian natural beauty brand that I picked up in India. They have lots of skincare products ,color cosmetics and also candles. I found their products to be reasonably priced. I picked up the Argan and Almond facial cleaning balm and also a 10 minute brightening mask which I’ll talk about in detail soon.

Natio Argan and Almond facial cleansing balm

The balm comes in a no frills tube which makes it an ideal travel companion. I am a fan of using cleansing oils to remove makeup, but travelling with them can be a bit difficult. This guy sorted that problem! The only con was that every once in a while when it gets cold, the oils in the tube solidify to a thick paste that you need to use a bit of pressure to get out. This also sometimes results in too much of the stuff coming out of the tube at once.

The balm is easy to use, just like any cleansing oil you take some of the balm and work it gently onto your dry face. Once the oils break down all your makeup, wash with water to get all your makeup off. I found the balm to be good at removing all my makeup including heavy eye makeup. This does have a slight herbal smell, which does not bother me at all since it is quite mild.

Ingredient List

As you can see the ingredient list is quite nice! I love that Almond oil is number 2 on the ingredient list. The herbal smell is likely due to the combination of all the different flower oils listed.

After you wash off the cleansing balm with water, it leaves a coating/residue on the skin which I suspect is due to the beeswax and candelilla wax. This is not an issue for me since I always double cleanse when I wear makeup , so after the cleansing balm step, I go in with a foaming cleanser to make sure everything is cleaned off from my face. If you were looking to use this as your only cleanser this might be a deal breaker unless your skin is so dry it loves that waxy layer 🙂

Overall, I really like this cleansing balm and look forward to trying more of their products! I found some of Natio’s products on amazon so maybe I don’t have to travel too far to try something more from the brand!

Have you tried Natio products? What do you recommend I try from them next?

It is getting chilly these days..sunny days are precious! Baby boy is not loving the cold chilly breeze in Boston city, neither is his mama 🙂 Recently, I realized I have been grabbing the same products quite often and decided to share them here with all of you.

Current favorites!

Burberry Fresh Glow BB Cream: I have a love hate relationship with this one! it is greasy in the summer but in the colder months it is perfect for my skin. It has almost no coverage, but it does give a little pep talk to your skin before you apply anything more. I find it comfortable and it does not cling to any dry patches.

Bourjois Rouge Velvet Lipstick in Brique-a-brac: I love the color! It is probably more of a summer color but I love this pinky brown shade and personally find it appropriate to wear all year round 🙂 The formula isn’t the best but with a lipbalm it is works well!

Bobbie Brown Shimmer brick in Bronze: Again more of a summer time choice but I love using the first 2 strips mixed together as a highlighter. It is subtle yet strong and gives the most elegant highlight on your cheek bones. I do use the darker shades as eyeshadows once in a while. Overall, I love the shimmer bricks! They are versatile and last forever!!

Japonesque Velvet Touch Blush in 04: The texture of these blushes is great. The shade 04 is matte and blends beautifully into your skin. I find this shade quite unique and it is perfect for fall. It is a cool toned violet pink which is something I shy away from usually. This color doesn’t look weird on my yellow under tone skin so yay for that 🙂